A Guide To Chinatown Tokyo

Japan’s major Chinatown is located in Yokohama, and the area designated Tokyo Chinatown doesn’t have a large gateway like typical Chinatowns. And it is not like other Chinatowns around the world which boast Chinese food, cheap clothing and inexpensive goods selling from colourful shops, rather, it is home to stores run by Chinese immigrants who arrived in the 1980s. Chinese studying in Japan started to live in the area after diplomatic relations between Japan and China were established in 1972, and this gives a Chinese cultural feel to the district. It is arguably one of the best shopping districts in Tokyo.

It should be noted that despite many Chinese doing their best to establish Tokyo Japan, the area, which still has many Japanese shopping streets has not been fully welcoming of the idea of naming the whole area officially as Chinatown.

Vibrant Street LifeThere is good transportation to and from the area via the busy Ikebukuro Station, and many apartments in the area have relatively cheap rents by Tokyo standards. Many Chinese who are visiting with their friends meet in this area for coffee or to dine at the various restaurants. Popular is the a branch of the Chinese hotpot restaurant Xiaoweiyang, which is very large in China with close to 700 outlets.

And there are plenty of Chinese-style yellow and red signs in front of the establishments, mostly restaurants, and the large retailer Yokojo, with its large red hanging lanterns, sells youtiao (fried bread sticks) a popular breakfast food in China, and tea-flavored eggs can be found for sale here. The store has over two thousand imported products and claims to have a customer base which is eighty percent Chinese.